Mercedes Formula 𓆏1 chief Toto Wolff says Red Bull-Honda must be taken seriously as a title contender in 2019 following an impressive first outing for the par🔥tnership in Australia last weekend.

After becoming Red Bull’s power unit partner for the new season, Honda recorded its fiꦆrst F1 podium finish in over a decade 🀅as Max Verstappen finished third in Melbourne.

Verstappen qualified fourth and managed to pass Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel with ease early in the second stint, before piling pressure Mer🥀cedes driver Hamilton in P2 late on, eventually finishing less than two seconds behind.

Speaking after the race, Mercedes team boss Wolff said the new Red Bull-Honda partnership would have ♍to be taken seriously i💞n the title race this year.

“[They were] very strong, you saw how they have eaten up Sebastian into Turn 3. The power was enor💝mous,” Wolff said.

“Seeing them come back strong makes me happy as they are a good group of people. They are decen♉t men.

“The combination with Red Bull will become a thr🉐eat. The level of performance, you must certainly havಌe them in the calculation for the championship.”

Verstappen’s third-place finish was a landmark for Honda after a difficult initial return to F1💫 with McLaren in 2015 that was blighted by recurrin💎g performance and reliability issues.

Hon𓄧da cut ties with McLaren at the end of 2017 to link up with Red Bull’s B-team, Toro Rosso, laying the foundations for its expanded partnership for 2019.

Additional reporting by Michael Lamonato.